Double-decker tourist buses hit the city streets

Racing red double-decker tour buses will appear on the streets of Moscow next week. They will take standard routes around the historical center of the city. To this day Moscow was the last European capital which did not have this service available for tourists.

A representative at the Moscow Committee for Tourism and Hotel Industry said that just like in other cities, the buses will have the Hop on – Hop off system. It means that you can board the bus as many times as you please. The tour suggests 18 initial stops. During the excursion passengers will have a chance to discover the Kremlin, the Red Square, the Moscow Manege, St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Busses will be on duty from 10 am till 6 pm on workdays and till 7 pm on weekends. Night tours are also planned. The ticket costs about $20 with as many stops along the way as needed. Children and senior citizens have a discount, their tickets are around $13, and student tickets are $10 each.

The first three buses have come to the capital last Friday. At the moment the city tour is being test-driven: experts are adjusting timings, routes and are checking technical condition of the vehicles. These are MAN buses, specially tuned in Berlin. They have the retractable roof, windows on the second floor and an audio system that allows tourists to listen to the excursion in 8 different languages. Moscow’s climate was also taken into account – special buses with heating and double windows will be used during the cold season.

This project was created by a Spanish company City Sightseeing with assistance from the Moscow Committee for Tourism and Hotel Industry and Moscow Transport Department. The company was a pioneer in city tours, when it was founded in 1999 in Seville, and their first city tour took place in London. Now this format is famous all over the world, and has over a hundred routes on 6 continents. Today the Spanish company is the biggest operator of double-decker tourist buses in the world. City Sightseeing is represented in more than 80 cities of 23 countries through affiliate programs. Their tourist flow amounts to more than 5 million people every year.